‘It’s all over’ – new documentary on the kiss that shook Spanish football

It’s over.

Those two words, which mean “it’s all over” in English and were first published by midfielder Alexia Putellas on social media, changed Spanish football forever.

Putellas, followed by many others, posted ‘it’s over’ after Spain’s victory in the 2023 World Cup was overshadowed by Luis Rubiales, president of the country’s soccer federation, by planting a kiss on the lips of player Jenni Beautiful.

It was a kiss that Rubiales said was consensual, but Hermoso said no.

Now, Netflix has released a documentary titled ‘It’s over: the kiss that changed Spanish football’, which addresses the preparation of the tournament, the kiss and the fight that followed.

BBC Sport analyzes the key themes of the documentary.

the kiss

The documentary, which has been translated into English, begins with several players from the world champion Spanish team talking about the impact of the kiss.

Later, there is footage of the kiss itself and the moment Rubiales grabbed him by the crotch while standing alongside members of Spain’s royal family after Spain defeated England in the final.

Even in the immediate aftermath, there were questions about his behavior, but Rubiales, who has denied any wrongdoing, was quick to call the criticism “very stupid” in an interview with Spanish media.

“We didn’t realize it at that moment. At that moment we were happy for the title,” said defender Irene Paredes.

“Little by little we realized what happened next. The news, the pressure and the media comments kept increasing and we knew something big had happened.”

Something big had happened, but for Hermoso it was just the beginning.

The 34-year-old woman claims she was Pressured by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to say that the kiss was consensual, while also saying that some of his friends and family were asked to downplay the incident. The RFEF has not responded to the claims.

“Before getting on the plane, Jenni told me that they were pressuring her to give a statement to protect Rubiales,” said Amanda Gutiérrez, president of the Futpro players union.

“She (Hermoso) said ‘No, why would I do that? I’m not going to sign anything. I don’t want to give any statement. But I’m very stressed because they keep putting pressure on me.'”

Arsenal defender Laia Codina added: “Jenni was devastated and starting to understand everything that was happening. We knew we were almost home. She looked worried and scared too.”

the aftermath

Five days after Spain’s historic victory, a defiant Rubiales repeatedly insisted at an emergency RFEF meeting that he would not resign.

Putellas, who was on vacation at the time of the meeting, said she was “outraged.”

She said: “The lies, the attitude, defending himself, but at the same time he was attacking Jenni.

“Those people knew the truth and they applauded him just to protect themselves.”

It was the turning point. Later that day, 81 Spanish players, including the 23 who attended the World Cup, announced that they would not play for the Spain women’s team until Rubiales was removed from his position.

“We wanted a structural change. We needed a change because the system could not stay like this,” Putellas said.

Putellas, who promoted the ‘it’s over’ movement that was followed by both his colleagues and Spanish society in general, added: “It had exploded and there was no turning back.”

However, more than two weeks had to pass after the players’ declaration before the RFEF and a wave of new condemnations before Rubiales admitted defeat and he resigned from his position.

The 47-year-old has since been banned from all football-related activities for three years by FIFA, while earlier this year it was announced that be tried for sexual assault for kissing Hermoso without his consent. He denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “social murder.”

The players’ boycott finally came to an end when an agreement was reached with the RFEF, which apologized and promised to “immediate and profound changes.”

“The fact that our entire team, as well as players around the world, were willing to take a stand, gave me a lot of strength for everything. I think it gave me a superpower to deal with it and move forward.” Hermoso said in the documentary.

“As a result of this, we set a precedent and there are many women who can feel stronger.”

BBC Sport asked the RFEF for its response to the allegations in the documentary, but has not yet received a response.

the accumulation

The documentary also addresses the fact that Spain’s problems began long before the 2023 World Cup, where they arrived as a “broken group” and without “any sense of unity,” according to Codina.

Jorge Vilda, the coach in charge during Spain’s World Cup triumph, was only the second person to coach La Roja since 1988.

His predecessor, Ignacio Quereda, was in charge for almost 27 years and resigned only when his entire team called for his dismissal after their poor performance at the 2015 World Cup.

“He treated us like we were his girls,” said goalkeeper Lola Gallardo, while her teammate Sandra Panos said Quereda sometimes made “vulgar comments.”

There were also problems with Vilda.

In September 2022, after a disappointing performance at the Women’s European Championship, the RFEF issued a statement revealing that 15 players had sent identical emails saying they would not play for Vilda unless “significant” concerns about their status were addressed. emotional state” and “health”.

‘The 15’, as the players became known, denied that they had requested Vilda’s dismissal, but tension continued amid reports of concern over training methods and inadequate match preparation.

“Jorge was in charge of everything. He wanted to control everything,” Putellas said.

Former Spanish player Vero Boquete added: “When you end up in a national team with demanding players, you are afraid of what they are going to do. “He was afraid that we would talk and that’s why he wanted to have control over us.”

After his dismissal, Vilda said she has a “clear conscience” and that the personal criticisms were “unfair.”

The documentary reflects the negative media attention that ‘Las 15’ received, while Irene Paredes stated that her messages to Rubiales, which according to her included requests for improvements for the national team, were leaked to the press.

Spain entered the tournament amid a context of unrest, but when they emerged as world champions, it was seen as personal victories for both Rubiales and Vilda.

Ivana Andrés, who was Vilda’s captain, said: “After so much work, after so much effort we put in, they stole that from us.”